Reuters.Com posted an announcement by UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock on May 23, 2021. This confirmed the two jabs effective against Indian variant B.1.617.2 are Pfizer-BioNTech and Astra Zeneca. However, they are not equally good at it, and you need both shots to gain the full benefit. This is great news the Indian variant may not be as resistant as we first feared it might be.
Rolling Out Two Jabs Effective Against The Indian Variant
The data comes from a study by Public Health England. This is the government body managing community health in the southern counties of United Kingdom. Their research (see report below) used the ‘test-negative’ method to compare volunteers at government clinics with similar symptoms. And the goal was to determine how many did not have the Indian variant code B.1.617.2.
The researchers then factored in the volunteers’ COVID vaccination history. This enabled them to distinguish how effective two jabs of Pfizer-BioNTech and Astra Zeneca were against the India variant.
The Findings of the Public Health England Test-Negative Study
1… The Pfizer-BioNTech and Astra Zeneca were similarly effective against the Indian, and UK Kent strains
2… However, the first doses only provided 33% protection for the Indian variant, compared to 50% cover from the Kent strain.
3… But the Pfizer vaccine benefit rose to 88% effectiveness against the Indian strain two weeks after the second dose (compared to 93% for the UK variant)
4… While the Astra Zeneca product was considerably weaker, at 60% and 66% effective against the Indian and UK variants respectively.
The researchers however noted several factors that could have tended the comparison in Pfizer’s favor. In the first instance, those second doses rolled out earlier than the Astra Zeneca ones. And in the second peak effectiveness of the latter takes longer at three weeks.
In the third instance, the earlier-available Pfizer was given to healthcare workers who tended to be younger, because it required ultra-low temperature storage at the time. The UK Health Secretary commented the results proved ‘getting both doses of the vaccine is absolutely vital’.
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